The Weekend Away Parents Guide — What to watch out for in this film?

The Weekend Away

As modern mysteries go, The Weekend Away is a cliffhanger! Two best friend unite for a weekend away from the stresses of their lives to enjoy the Croatian culture and sights. The story twists and turns into suspicions, betrayal and murder – the classic delectable blend of a murder mystery. Kate betrays Beth and falls victim to her own betrayal and ends up in the river while Beth runs in circle trying to escape the blame of murder while finding the killer.

Parental Rating

The general rating for the movie is PG-13. This means that the movie would be inappropriate for audiences under the age of 13 years and would need parental guidance.

Given the themes of the nudity, murder, dead bodies and strong language – we would recommend parental caution in children even older than 13.

What to watch out for in this film?

Graphic dead body scenes:

The movie opens with a dead body floating in water. Then further on in the movie, two scenes showing the dead body rotted from being in water too long are shown in a morgue. These scenes represent the concept of murder and violence which are the dominant themes in the movie.

Strong language:

The language and tone is mostly violent and aggressive. Swear words and language suggesting sexual conversations and drugs are mentioned.

Themes of murder and betrayal:

The movie is based on these two themes which in essence are inappropriate for younger children. Unnecessary exposure of violence in formative years is detrimental to emotional development so it would be better to avoid little prying eyes around the screen showing this film.

Nudity and suggestive conversation:

With Kate struggling from divorce and encouraging Beth to have a fun weekend – mild nudity scenes are peppered across the movie. Kate is seen taking her clothes off to get into a Jacuzzi with the escorts. Beth is stripped while Kate tried to put her to bed helped by the men she invited back home. These scenes are too mature for children. In addition to these scenes, there is conversation at a club where the girls talk about male escorts which is consequently prostitution.

Aggressive behavior:

There are scenes where Kate is yelling while talking on her mobile in anger and frustration. In another scene, the taxi driver, Zain, gets into a confrontation with one of the escorts where he forces him to confess by threatening to fling the man down a cliff.

There are several scenes where the police are involved in chasing Beth and then interrogating her harshly. The language, tone of conversation and scenes of fighting can be distressing for viewing in a family setting. The general mood of the movie remains aggressive from start to finish – rising from domestic aggression to violence on the street and finally culminating in murder.

Low to mild use of drugs and alcohol:

A fair amount of alcohol and drug usage can be seen throughout the movie.

A murder mystery with plot twists and unsolved puzzles will keep you at the edge of your seat! The acting is convincing and the storyline is well knit. Trending now, this movie is a great watch but it would be best to leave out the children. Although the rating says PG-13 but we would say it again, might as well keep the children under 17 out of this screening.